Susan M
My Profile
Susan M
United Kingdom
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Susan M's reviews and photos on Viator.com
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Jul062008
Rome Hop-on Hop-off Double Decker Bus Tour
Tour / Activity
My Rating: 
Location: Rome, Italy
My Review: Enjoyable; definitely one to do when you are flagging and fed up of walking. Lots of information, and it's cheap. There are lots of tour buses at the station but no problem finding the pickup point. A tip for you: In July, take a parasol and a fan. The direct sunlight is too much when the bus stops at the different sites; it only waits a few minutes, but it can get unbearable.
Jul052008
Skip the Line: Ancient Rome and Colosseum Half-Day Walking Tour
Tour / Activity
My Rating: 
Location: Rome, Italy
My Review: I took an elderly relative on this tour. It's easily accessible, with a lift as an alternative to the steps, and good toilet facilities available. To skip the massive queue was a great bonus; the place was packed. One of the audio sets that we had was a bit crackly. Because the place was very crowded with lots of other guides speaking, it wasn't alway easy to concentrate on our guide. He was very knowledgeable, but my mother had problems with his strong Italian accent. Of course, only to be expected in Italy, but worth a mention. In the end, the heat ruined it for us; we thoroughly enjoyed the Colosseum but wished we had booked just the Colosseum and not the rest of the tour...only because of the heat. The guide gave us a short break to have a look around after the Colosseum before going on to the next part, but we had to abandon it because it was 39 degrees that day and far too hot to concentrate on anything apart from trying to keep cool.
Jul052008
Rome Tiber River Hop-on Hop-off Cruise
Tour / Activity
My Rating:
Location: Rome, Italy
My Review: A pleasant alternative to the hustle and bustle in the city. Mostly information about the bridges but still it was good.
Jul042008
Private Viewing of the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums
Tour / Activity
My Rating:
Location: Rome, Italy
My Review: I took my mother as a birthday treat on this tour. I paid the extra to avoid the crowds. It was well worth the money just to be able to move. Our guide told us that in one day in May 25,000 people passed through the Vatican museums! The guide was very knowledgeable and was willing to answer questions from our group of around 15 people. We were totally alone in the museum apart from the security guards and the cleaners! Fantastic.
A tip for anyone thinking of going in summer, this place is NOT air conditioned as we had expected, to say it was stifling inside is an understatement. We went on a day that reached 39 degrees and it was so uncomfortable. Everyone was suffering. It's not that easily accessible with all the stairs to climb. My mother is 80 and she found it difficult to keep going in the heat. There are lots of steps. It's a superb trip to do but I would personally have liked to spend more time in the museum looking at the artifacts etc. Our guide concentrated mostly on the paintings and described what they depicted. It's an incredible experience but we wished we had gone in a cooler season and been able to spend longer looking in the glass cases in the museum. We left the building through that area and the security men kept asking us to keep moving if we stopped to look at something. The Sistine Chapel is much smaller than we expected but amazing. Well worth a look.
